[Closed] Prescription MTB glasses

I've been using Oakleys with Transition lenses for the past 10 years or so. I use them day and night. Expensive outlay but my prescription has only changed once in that time so I've only needed new lenses the once. That makes them pretty cheap in the long run.

Thank you. Did you order them direct from Oakley or through your Optician?

Oakley Prism trail ptrescription lens user here

Purchased on line through RX Sport not cheap by any maens but good service and makes a huge difference

Try rad8 mudhugger glasses. Transition lenses, anti fog coating and no scratches in 3 years of use.

Rad8 aren't prescription though, and I'm not that impressed with them. Been using them for the last 1.5 years, and the lens quality is poor. They've scratched, despite never being cleaned with anything other than the lens case they came with - no better than a pair of £20-30 cheap sports glasses.

Awesome question, I need some for night rides during winter as my vision at night is more compromised than during the day. Dont want a major outlay though for the amount they'll get used.

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far guys. Loads of nice looking ones on that RX sport site. Touch pricey but they look decent.

Oakleys here too, not cheap but good "value".

I have transition lenses and Trail Prizm lenses.

The trail Prizms are great (bordering on witchcraft) for the vast majority of daytime riding, in the last couple of weeks i have used them on an over cast day under tree cover, bright sunshine on a road ride and also driving home through apocalyptic thunderstorms when I forgot my normal glasses.

However, if you plan to night ride you might be better off with a transition lens, I have the grey transitions and they served me well for the 7 years before I got the Prizms.

I spent about £225 in transition** prescription specs mainly for all-year, all-hours (night) riding but also general dossing around outside, skiing etc. I was nervous about spending so much but prescription changes are less of an issue because I don't use them for 'details' stuff like working / studying so they should last a fair while assuming I don't wreck them. I'll certainly be buying another pair when these are past their useful life. I bought mine from this place as we were in that area when I was looking https://www.eyekit.co.uk/sunglasses.html (between Leeds and York).

** See previous threads on the 'paedo-look' of transitions. I don't wear mine anywhere where I'll be inside for a decent length of time. I also accept the compromises of transitions when riding in the woods in summer where brightness changes are frequent

How the hell do you all stop the lenses getting trashed?  I seem to go through a pair of prescription MTB glasses every 6 months.  I have tried the non scratch coating, having a special "wipe" but i must be doing something very wrong as i scratch the lenses really quickly to the point of useless.

I buy a cheap pair of frames from Mountain Equipment, TKMaxx or somewhere similar, and then get them glazed at Ciliary Blue (or whatever they've rebranded to now, Reglaze Direct or something).

I've had two pairs of their transitions lenses and they've been fine for night riding, sunny riding and skiing. Only problem is overcast days, where they'll still tint cos of the UV, but then they're a bit dark for riding as the day itself is not that bright. Not horrific, but a bit annoying.

Rudy Project through RX Sport - I went for some of those photochromatic ones (right word?) and they are brilliant - go from almost completely clear to pretty dark really quickly. So I can keep them on when it's dark and when it's sunny and when I go into shaded woodland from bright sun they seem to adapt immediately.

I use one of the cheap online places, normally Goggles 4u, and buy two pairs in as cheap a deal as possible. Quality of the frames has been a bit mixed in the past, only one pair that I couldn't use on the bike as the fit was awful (used for working on bikes/car/painting/DIY now) but generally they do fine as a set of mtb specs for 6 months. Last order was £22 for two pairs and they were both spot on in terms of prescription and fit and actually looked ok too.

Have the same experience with prescription lenses as mentioned above that they scratch no matter what coating and how careful you are when out in the gritty dust or mud so quite happy that I can clean them on my t-shirt without being overly bothered how long they last.

@GavinB. Hate to disagree but, my rad8 glasses are prescription. Maybe the prescription lenses are better quality than the standard ones but my glasses have good peripheral vision and work very well (without scratching too).

I have a set of Zeal prescription sunglasses, purchased through RX Sport. Really happy with them, been a game changer for me as I'd started to have issues with contact lenses.

Pop in to your optician and ask about prescription safety specs, the pair that I had glazed in my local specsavers cost a lot more but gave much better vision than the cheap ( £144 ) ones I ordered online. I only have 1 pair of eyes they don't work well (-10 prescription) so I'm prepared to pay extra to protect them.

How the hell do you all stop the lenses getting trashed?

Rinse, don't wipe.

I do what IHN does - choose some normal sunglasses offline (TK Maxx and Decathlon most recently) then get them reglazed to transitions by Reglaze Glasses Direct (which is what Ciliary Blue are called now, I'm sure other similar services are available)

I've been totally happy with this approach. Just don't go too crazy on any wraparound.

I'd love some Oakleys but I'm just not wealthy enough, I have used re-glazed Bolle safety specs for some time but I've just taken delivery of a pair of these which are styled to look a wee bit like crosslinks maybe, they have far less sweep than the photo's make them appear to but for riding they are comfortable and work and importantly they're cheap. I paid a wee bit more for Photochromic lenses (not transitions) and so far they've worked well enough in high and low light conditions...

But yeah take a poke around some of the online vendors for cheap riding specs...

Just wear contact lenses for riding. A few boxes of daily disposables and non-prescription eye protection will work out cheaper and less hassle.

I tried contacts. Didn't work for me.

I'm an eye doctor.
Presuming you tried soft contact lenses, there are much better silicone hydrogel lenses if discomfort is a problem.
I tried hard lenses one day and was a nightmare with watering etc.
I wore soft lenses for fifteen years and only after that developed discomfort so had laser. So much better than glasses for sports...

I’ve tried lenses they really don’t agree with me at all. Really liking some of the suggestions though guys. Thanks very much again.

@fat-boy-fat - fair enough, I stand corrected! I think you may be right though, that prescription lenses are better quality than the standard ones. I'm close to ditching my Rad8 ones, as the lenses are garbage.

@empirical

Hi eye doctor. Do you know if there are soft contacts available for people with weird shaped eyes? I liked the idea of disposable lenses for occasional use and found them quite comfortable when I tried them on a Specsavers trial, but they distorted my vision oddly and messed with my balance. The optician said this was due to my astigmatism and the axis (I think?), and I'd need to have hard lenses made which turned out to be very uncomfortable and a lot more expensive.

I got some Oakley crosslinks from the glasses company. They had 25% off at the time so got them for about £60 with standard lenses. They have been perfect for riding and the lenses are still in great condition and I haven't looked after them and often wipe them with gloves etc.

https://www.theglassescompany.co.uk/oakley-designer-glasses.html

Helios sunglasses from Alpkit, with transition bifocal,tinted, anti scratch and al the other extras. Just over£100 all in on special from Reglaze Direct. Superb for road and off-road riding